TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s hard-line president told his nation Monday not to be frightened by Western “bullying” over the country’s nuclear ambitions, and his government dismissed as “psychological warfare” reports that the United States was drawing up plans for military action. In Washington, President Bush said force is not necessarily …

TACOMA, Wash. – And you thought your buddy’s gross anatomy textbook was, well, gross. Some unlucky Englishman stumbled upon a 300-year-old anatomy book of sorts in a street in Leeds that officers say was probably dumped after a burglary. Except this book wasn’t filled with pictures of all manner of …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A roadside bomb exploded Saturday in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Dora, killing three Iraqi soldiers, the army said. At least one civilian was killed in fierce fighting between insurgents and the army in Fallujah, police Lt. Mohammed Khalaf said. Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, was …

NEW YORK – The King of All Media extends his empire tonight, when Howard Stern goes into the movie business with his own film festival. Among the highlights a lucky midtown audience will see is a documentary about an inspired practical joke a listener played on one of Stern’s more …

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Capitol was evacuated shortly after noon Monday after the building lost power. Electricity was restored about half an hour later but officials decided to keep the building evacuated until the cause of the outage was determined, said Bob Stevenson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Bill …

VERACRUZ, Mexico – An overcrowded bus speeding home from a religious festival veered off a highway emergency ramp and crashed through a metal barrier, plunging more than 650 feet into a ravine. Fifty-seven people were killed, including a 13-year-old boy. Just three people survived Monday’s plunge from the highway, considered …

WASHINGTON – Editor’s Correction: In the original story that ran on March 20, 2006, the writer included former Democratic leaders Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt in a list of past lawmakers who are now registered lobbyists. However, the two former leaders are not registered lobbyists, according to the Senate Records …

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – A southern Malaysian state will appoint a team of scientists and experts to hunt for a “Bigfoot” beast after the reported sighting of three giant human-like creatures, officials said Thursday. Johor state Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman said the state will form an official Bigfoot-tracking team …

NEW YORK – Soaring energy prices and lackluster earnings reports from Dow Jones industrials members General Electric (GE) and Citigroup (C) sent stocks plunging Friday, giving the Dow its biggest single-day percentage drop in nine months. The major indexes each lost more than 2 percent this week. Crude oil returned …

WASHINGTON – Soldiers should be required to wear new ceramic body armor plates even though they add weight and may limit mobility, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said Wednesday. Drawn into an issue being debated on the battlefield and Capitol Hill, Harvey did not hand down an order or impose no …